Oregon Sierra Club in the Media 2013

Articles 2013

The campaign will oppose recent proposals that could force a return to clearcutting on public lands, according to the groups. The campaign’s participants are the Center for Biological Diversity, Oregon Wild, the Portland Audubon Society and the Sierra Club..

The campaign will oppose recent proposals that could force a return to clearcutting on public lands, according to the groups. The campaign’s participants are the Center for Biological Diversity, Oregon Wild, the Portland Audubon Society and the Sierra Club..

The decision was a victory for coal opposition groups including Sierra Club and utility customer advocates including the Citizens'
Utility Board of Oregon. Sierra Club argued that PacifiCorp moved forward with improvements to its coal plant in Wyoming before the
utility was legally required to do so and shortchanged any research to find alternative energy sources.

The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay says it will review its public records policies, after a local judge ruled against the
port in a dispute with the Sierra Club. Coos County Circuit Court Judge Paula Bechtold ruled Monday that the port violated both
Oregon law and the Sierra Club's constitutional rights, by refusing to waive fees for supplying port records to the group.

Monday's court ruling against the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay was the latest development in a two-year battle over fees
for releasing public records. The Oregon chapter of the Sierra Club filed a public records request in 2011 related to coal export
plans. The port responded that it would charge the group more than $19,000 to fulfill the request. In ruling in favor of the Sierra
Club Monday, Coos County Circuit Court Judge Paula Bechtold said the port violated public records law by failing to waive the fees.

A Coos County judge, in a harsh rebuke to the local port district, ruled that the port "abused its discretion" by attempting to
discourage the Sierra Club from obtaining public records involving a proposed coal export terminal. Circuit Judge Paula Bechtold
ordered the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay to turn over the documents without charge, and awarded the environmental group
attorney's fees in the case.

Coos County Circuit Court Judge Paula Bechtold ruled in January that the port must waive approximately $20,000 in fees under an
extensive public records request filed by the Sierra Club. Hamner said the port has yet to decide whether it will appeal Bechtold's
ruling.

Whatever the Aviation Board decided would likely have led to litigation, said Brian Pasko, director of the Oregon chapter of the
Sierra Club. Environmentalists are concerned in particular with possible pollution and the introduction of invasive species from
seaplanes. "This lake has been sought after as a place for quiet recreation for well over a decade," Pasko said. "The public has
come to expect that from the lake. By allowing four seaplanes, you allow a very small minority to have a very significant impact
on the way a majority of folks enjoy the lake."

The Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Columbia Riverkeeper and other environmental groups have sent a notice of intent to
sue BNSF Railway and several coal companies for violations of the Clean Water Act. "This letter has informed them of their illegal
discharge of coal dust in chunks and other potentially dangerous material into the Columbia River and other Northwest waterways in
violation of the federal clean water act," said Cesia Kearns with the Sierra Club's Power Past Coal campaign.

Efforts to save Waldo Lake may be paying off for clean water enthusiasts and lovers of Oregon's lakes and forests. A bill has passed
in both the Senate and House in the Oregon Leglislature that would ban float planes from landing on the lake. Removing polluting motors
from the pristine lake has been a conentious issue with efforts by the Forest Service, conservationists and others fought at every step.
The bill now gets sent to Gov. John Kitzhaber to sign into law. Here is the info from the Sierra Club.

Environmental groups that for years have pushed for a ban on all gasoline-powered engines were relieved. "Waldo Lake is a unique Oregon
treasure," said Brian Pasko, director of the Sierra Club's Oregon chapter. "Today's action by the Oregon Legislature will protect Waldo
Lake's unique ecology and ensure that it is a place for quiet recreation and solitude to be enjoyed by Oregonians for generations to come."

"Waldo Lake is a unique Oregon treasure," Brian Pasko, director of the Sierra Club's Oregon chapter, said in a prepared statement.
"Today's action by the Oregon Legislature will protect Waldo Lake's unique ecology and ensure that it is a place for quiet recreation
and solitude to be enjoyed by Oregonians for generations to come."

Sierra Club representative Borden Beck is one of those dedicated to permanently preserving the Owhyee. Here we are still waiting
for Congress to do something," said Beck at a recent Sierra Club gathering in Bend. Clearly frustrated by the inability of Congress
to act, Beck accused the last Congress of "being the first since 1964 to not pass any wilderness legislation."

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups sued BNSF railway and coal companies in federal court Wednesday, charging that they
pollute the Columbia River and other water bodies with coal dust from uncovered coal trains.

"The treaty's benefits in hydropower and flood control for the United States and Canada came with wrenching costs for tribes and
first nations, salmon and the river's health," said Rhett Lawrence, conservation director for the Sierra Club's Oregon chapter.
"A modernized treaty must help both nations jointly prepare the Columbia and Snake watersheds with resilience and health for the
climate change that is upon us."

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